By Tori Hahn

Local program helps youths deal with the great unknown

“You can just imagine when you were 18, and if your parents had come to you on your 18th birthday and [said], ‘You have to leave now and you can’t call us back for more help. Here’s a couple hundred bucks. You can’t come back. You just need to make things work on your own,’ and they sent you out the door with whatever you could carry.”

That’s how Don Wells, executive director of Just in Time for Foster Youth, describes what it is like when foster children turn 18 and must leave foster care.

Stories like this are not uncommon for the 800 former foster youths who sought help last year from Just in Time. The Old Town-based organization provides support for former foster children ages 18-26 who need assistance transitioning into the adult world.

Victoria Willis, 19, a former foster child and current employee of Just in Time, shared a different story.

Willis was born in Madera, California while her mother was incarcerated. The young girl “house-hopped” between relatives’ homes until her mother was later released and the two moved to Florida to restart their lives.

Soon after their move, her mother fell back into her old drug habits. Willis still recalls the day when men emerged from a black van to take her mother away from her. The next thing she remembered was her mom filling out paperwork — forms she now believes signed her away to the foster care system.

After some time in a group home, a Florida family adopted Willis. For once, she was surrounded by what she called an “organic” family: a mom, dad, brother and sister.

“I didn’t feel like I was in foster care there,” she said.

But before her new family could solidify their plans to adopt Willis, she was forced to move back to California to live with her great aunt. And in her junior year of high school, Willis started living with her mother again.

“There were days where she would tell me to go into the room, and her friends were coming over and we were going to get money,” Willis said. “She still talked to me as a child then. At the time I was probably 17, and I knew what was going on.”

“Although living with her wasn’t stable, she gave me life and I tried everything I could to make it work.”

Now, two years later, Victoria is a full-time student at San Diego State University. But even between earning her degree and working for Just in Time, she still views herself primarily as a former foster child.

“I feel like I am a foster youth before any other identity,” she said. “I never felt like I was ever in a traditional family, even before I was in care.”

An alarming number of former foster youths are at risk following their forced emancipation. According to The Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership, 40 percent to 50 percent of former foster youths become homeless within 18 months after separation from their families. Twenty-five percent end up in prison within two years.

Only 1 percent to 3 percent of former foster children earn a college degree, and 60 percent of those who do have jobs earn wages of less than $6,000 per year.

The largest gap for transitioning foster youths is connection, Wells said. They endure detachment from their families, movement between numerous homes and lack of experience with self-sufficiency.

“They leave foster care not trusting relationships, not thinking their relationships are lasting, not thinking that people follow through on their promises — starting with their parents,” he said. “A big part of what we do is try to change that perception.”

Just in Time’s first contact with former foster youths doesn’t always happen immediately after they turn 18. The young adults often wait until they’re in trouble with the law or even homeless before they seek help, Wells said.

The organization offers programs such as meeting basic needs, finding a home, managing finances, getting an education and building a career.

While many agencies focus on providing tangible supplies to former foster youths, Wells stressed the importance Just in Time places on youths establishing and maintaining a community with others.

“You can get all the resources in the world, but if you’re still disconnected, you’re still struggling,” he said.

For more information about Just in Time for Foster Youth, visit jitfosteryouth.org.

—Tori Hahn is a freelance writer from San Diego. Reach her at [email protected].